Hi, I’m Chris
It’s so great to have you here! I’ve always had an obsession with old stuff. When I say old stuff, I don’t necessarily mean objects (although you won’t get me past vintage jewellery or antique furniture either). I mean the old ways of living, like simple home cooking. It’s so fascinating to hear stories about how our parents, grand-parents and their ancestors grew up. How did they manage to fit longer work weeks, kids, multiple jobs and all their chores into a week? There was no takeout food, no drive through and there may not even have been a fridge or a freezer.
How it all started
When I became a mum 7 years ago, I started to research more and more about how our ancestors lived and used simple home cooking to free up their hours. Being a full-time working parent to two energetic girls, there really wasn’t much time to do anything. We went through a period of takeaway food (so expensive!), meal boxes (way too much effort for what you’re getting). We looked at meal plans we found online. Have you done that? Maybe you also spent a huge amount of money on fancy ingredients you could not re-use. At the end, I was more frustrated, tired, stressed (and broke) than when I started.
That’s when my mum mentioned something along the lines of “If you have potatoes, you can cook a meal”. Weird thing to say I thought. But then I remembered how my mum grew up. On a farm with two siblings and her parents out in the field. What was in the house was what the fields had to give that time of year. Possibly also what could be stored for a few months. Usually potatoes, seasonal fruit and veg, grains, milk and eggs. The true ingredients of simple home cooking.
I started to take a closer look at how my grandma and mum cooked. Which ingredients did they use and how did they follow a few steps in their simple home cooking year round. Over the years, I researched more old recipes and simple ways of home cooking. It saved me so much time and money! The best thing though? Feeding my family a heathy and delicious, home cooked meal every night. Without the headache. Without a meal plan. And most importantly, without spending hours in the kitchen.
Where I’m at now
Simple home cooking is of course only one component of family life. If you and your family are anything like us though, food is the most essential part of life. As my kids grew older, other challenges arose. I tackle those as they come up and am still learning. How would I fit all these extra loads of washing into my day? Was it even realistic to maintain our life and my down time with all these extra kids activities? How could I keep myself from going insane? I’m far from perfect, but over the years I have figured out a few tricks which can save you and your family so much time and headaches. Let me share with you what works for me.